Kolkata Knight Riders 190-4 (Gautam Gambhir 93, Brendon McCullum 43, Vinay Kumar 2-31) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 143-6 (Chris Gayle 86, Saurabh Tiwary 19, Jacques Kallis 2-31) by 47.

A scintillating innings of 93 runs from Gautam Gambhir bulldozed Royal Challengers Bangalore as Kolkata Knight Riders clinched the match conveniently.

Kolkata Knight Riders plundered 190 runs for the loss of just four wickets in the allocated 20 overs and Royal Challengers Bangalore could reach at 143 with four wickets in hand.

Gautam Gambhir (Kolkata Knight Riders) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his killing knock of 93 off mere 51 balls.

The 38^th match of the Indian Premier League 2012 was played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The beaming packed house was thrilled with the performance of their team as they enjoyed and applauded throughout the 40 overs.

Earlier, the skipper of Kolkata Knight Riders, Gautam Gambhir was delighted to win the toss and opted to taste the wicket which looked full of runs. He opened the innings with Brendon McCullum and threatened the rival bowlers by gathering 11 runs in the first overs while each batsman got one four. Gambhir was the most attacking of the two and sent the ball reeling out of the fence twice in the third over off Zaheer Khan followed by one boundary each in the next three overs.

The first fifty of the innings was completed in seven overs and the duo started flooding the boundaries in the following overs. The stormy first wicket partnership produced 95 runs in 10.3 overs as McCullum was clean bowled by Daniel Vettori for 43 off 37 balls with 8 fours. Jacques Kallis joined in next with Gambhir who achieved his fifty on the second ball of the 12^th over with a couple and lifted the fifth ball out of the park.

The flow of runs was enhanced and the batsmen preferred to send the balls flying over the boundaries in the later part of the innings. The second wicket association accumulated 80 runs in 8.1 overs when Gautam Gambhir was unluckily gone seven runs short of his century with the assistance of 5 huge sixes and 9 fours. Kallis lost his wicket seven runs later for 41 off 27 deliveries, assisted with 3 powerful sixes and one four as Kolkata Knight Riders blasted 190 runs with six wickets still in hand at the end of the 20^th over.

Vinay Kumar was the most successful bowler with two wickets whereas Zaheer Khan and Daniel Vettori picked one wicket each.

Royal Challengers Bangalore had a dismal start by losing their first wicket for just two runs as the struggling Virat Kohli took guards in the centre and joined with Chris Gayle. They tried to lift the game by earning 13 runs in the third over followed by 9 in the next and took the score to 34 runs. The poor run of form continued for Kohli as he was declared leg before wicket off Jacques Kallis for 18 runs when the total reached at 34 runs. AB de Villiers became the second victim of Kallis on the very next ball without opening his account and the visitors struggled at 34-3.

Chris Gayle found himself stranded at one end as the wickets were crumbling at the other side and the score was enhanced to 63 runs at the end of the 12^th over. Gayle decided to take the challenge and started off with a couple of sixes in the 13^th over. He continued with the onslaught by getting three fours in the 17^th over off Kallis and later on murdered Rajat Bhatia for 22 runs which comprised three giant sixes and one four. Gayle was caught behind by the wicketkeeper, Brendon McCullum off Laxmi Shukla for 86 scored off 58 deliveries with 6 hefty sixes and 7 fours on the fifth ball of the last over.

Royal Challengers Bangalore managed 143 runs for the loss of six wicket in their allotted quota of overs and remained far behind the target.

Jacques Kallis was the top wicket taker with two as Yusuf Pathan, Sunil Narine, Rajat Bhatia and Laxmi Shukla shared one wicket each.

Kolkata Knight Riders won the match comprehensively by 47 runs and earned two important points.

Points attained by the two teams after the end of the 38^th match of the Indian Premier League 2012:

Kolkata Knight Riders           – 11 from 9 games at a net run rate of +0.694.

Royal Challengers Bangalore –  9 from 9 games at a net run rate of -0.462.